Review by lurveit914

I've just got my hands on deluxe samples of this foundation in various shades (20, 25, 30 &40) and wanted to give my first impressions. I'm going to compare this to Revlon Colorstay (oily/combination) because I feel like R/C is the low-end (drugstore) equivalent to this as it's aimed at all day wear, mattifying and aiding oily skin.
PROS:
- I love how this foundation does look closer to real skin then R/C.
- It comes in 16 shades and I've worked out I'm a shade 20 in velvet+ for winter and shade 30 in summer (I'm Buff in R/C and otherwise an NC25 (20 in winter)).
- It's very soft and smooth to the touch. R/C has that heavy feeling of thick foundation on the skin and to the touch... I hate that. With MUFE Velvet+ I feel like I have nothing on my face... such a nice change especially in the warmer months.
- It's a heavier medium coverage, not full in my opinion but this helps it to not look cakey.
- It doesn't oxidise (turn orange) which R/C also didn't do on me but other foundations (Maybelline SuperStay I'm talking to you!) have done.
- It stayed on me all day (12+ hours) with no primer and when setting it with MAC mineralize skinfinish natural. 8+ hours with no primer nor setting powder.
- Love that you can squirt out the foundation and not have to blob it out like R/C.
CONS:
- Velvet+ just doesn't cover everything. I can still see dark patches, veining, freckles and redness from an old pimple of two. I feel like R/C was much better at covering things even with a wet sponge. However, R/C can easily become cakey whereas Velvet+ maintains that 'natural' skin look by not covering everything perfectly (just slightly). Clearly, you'll need to invest in a decent concealer with Velvet+
- I have oily skin but apparently I have a dry patch near my mouth/chin. I had no clue because it's not detectable with no makeup on or with R/C on. I feel like this foundation has somehow found it and honed in on it which of course is annoying. For this reason I DO NOT recommend this to those with dry skin who deal with dry patches. I'm pretty oily (lovely, I know) so I don't know WHERE this dry patch came from?!
- Price wise, this of course is a lot more expensive than R/C.
Overall at the moment... I'm not in love (like TiffanyD) but I may just need to get use to it. It's only major 'one-up' on R/C in my overall opinion is that it feels and looks more like skin... like I'm not wearing anything on my face but jeez the price!
EDIT (13th Feb 2012):
I purchased a full size of Velvet + in November and am still going strong with it so cost wise I believe the product is value for money.. you really don't need a whole lot to do your face.
I've also tried applying the product with a sponge, MAC 130 brush, fingers and found that a combination of the brush and fingers works best. I mix one squirt of the foundation with a pump of my moisturiser, apply with my MAC 130 stippling brush (stippling and buffing) and then lightly use my fingers to press the foundation into the skin around my nose, under eyes, etc. It creates a very, very natural 'my skin but better' look. I've also invested in Mac studio finish concealer and will purchase the Bobbi Brown under eye corrector because the foundation doesn't cover some areas I REALLY need it to. Today, I really like this foundation but I might update again when winter hits here in Australia.